How to Buy a Pet Identification Tag for Your Shih Tzu

Choosing a pet identification tag for your Shih Tzu is like buying an insurance policy – you do so with the devout wish that you won’t need it. The “possible cost” of not having a pet ID tag is more costly than the “real cost” of purchasing the pet tag itself.

The type of pet ID tag that you buy is important, so take 5 minutes or so to think it through. Impulsively buying a collar tag just because it’s cheap or pretty often proves to be foolish, in the long term.

Consider the following before purchasing any pet identification tag for your Shih Tzu:
1.What is the amount of risk to your Shih Tzu?
Lost Shih Tzus are definitely common – we’ve all seen “Lost Dog!” signs plastered around town, or dead Shih Tzus lying along the side of the road. If your Shih Tzu is a master at tunneling under your fence, or can’t help chasing a smell, or youthful and energetic, or is not correctly trained, the possibility of a missing Shih Tzu is high.

But losing your Shih Tzu isn’t the only danger.

Sometimes Shih Tzus are stolen. A pet thief may take Rover or Fido hoping to get a reward for its return, or to use in pit fights (even small or gentle dogs are at risk – they can be used as “bait”), or for use in satanic rituals.

And what is the risk to your Shih Tzu if something happens to you, the owner?

If you’re a senior citizen with a Shih Tzu, particularly if you live alone or are in poor health, there’s a high chance that at some point someone else will need to care for your Shih Tzu, perhaps with little notice. And anyone can be struck by tragedy or disaster that leaves you unable to care for your companion.

In this instance, will your Shih Tzu’s new or temporary caretaker know that Fido hates cats, or needs medicine, or even whether or not Max is housetrained? A pet ID tag that contains more than your name and phone number would be very helpful.

2.What amount of risk are you comfortable with?
Some Shih Tzus are just more important to their owners, and the chance of losing that particular animal calls for a specific, higher priced kind of pet ID tag. Risk is proportional to value.

Keep in mind that there are multiple ways to calculate the value of your Shih Tzu. It may be financial (e.g., a purebred Shih Tzu) or occupational (e.g., a guide dog).

However for most Shih Tzu owners, the emotional attachment they have with their companion sets its value. For many, Shih Tzus are family, impossible to replace and dearly loved.

3.Using your answers to the two previous queries, what do you need in a pet identification tag?

Pet identification tags come in varying shapes, sizes and materials and hold varying amounts of info. Some have artwork or logos, also. Most pet identification tags are meant to be hung from a collar.

At a minimum, a pet ID tag should contain the phone number, name and address of the Shih Tzu’s owner in a durable, legible format. Plastic tags are light but chewed easily. Stainless steel tags don’t rust or fade and are durable. These traditional kinds of tags can bought from any veterinarian or pet store. They’re economical yet the amount of information they can contain is limited to the size of the tag.

Fortunately, you have many more options in pet identification tags for your Shih Tzu these days, such as microchipping, tattooing, digital display tags, pet registry web sites and voice recorded pet identification tags.

One of the recent entrants in the pet identification market is the high-tech USB drive that hangs off your Shih Tzu’s collar (or is attached to their cage) and which holds 64MB of data (including comprehensive diet and medical information). The small USB drive is encased in a sturdy polymer case and can be plugged into any computer, where it is easily updated and easy to print sections for sharing with your vet or pet sitter. There also exist bluetooth trackers, but their range is small, because of bluetooth technological limits.

Don’t forget to check out these other articles about Shih Tzus

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